No, not just anyone can be a Home Stager!!!!

The world of Home Staging includes many "out-of-the-box" concepts, or abstract ideas.

Home Staging is not solely about preparing a property for sale, and does not strictly deal with pretty presentation.

There is so much more to this profession than most people realize. And, this is precisely why successful Professional Home Stagers are the ones who have had extensive relevant education, training, and experience. Successful Home Stagers are also talented, are incredibly intuitive, and follow the Real Estate Market very closely.

I have heard many Interior Decorators/Designers say that they could do a Home Staging job "any day".

This is so far from the truth, it hurts.

Interior Decorators/Designers are educated and experienced in designing spaces based purely on the personality/flair/tastes/preferences of the client. As you can see from the photo below, jobs completed by Interior Decorators can be VERY architecturally distracting and too busy. I do not know about you, but this dining room does not compell me to settle in and sit down comfortably. BUT, it probably appeals to the home-owner....

Home Stagers focus on styling spaces that have NOTHING to do with the personality of the Home-owner (or seller). We design spaces that appeal to every single potential buyer in the property's target market(s).

These two professions could NOT be more opposite!

Successful Home Stagers also place a large amount of focus on the actual psyche of today's buyers. We have been educated to do so AND we naturally possess the ability to do so.

Buyers' minds do not operate on usual or "normal" frequencies when there is a large financial decision looming in front of them. Buying a home is most likely to be THE largest purchase a person will ever make in their lives. This is serious business.

Buyers are savvy, have heard Real-Estate horror-stories, and have been watching all of the Real Estate shows on television.

But, most importantly, when a buyer is searching for their new "home", there are a phenomenal number of seemingly small things (or indicators of much larger things) that can break a sale immediately.

A Professional Home Stager knows this list like the back of their hand, and is diligent in eliminating these "small things" for the seller, making it a much less painful process!

The moral of this post is this: When considering hiring a Home Stager to help prepare a property for sale, VERIFY their education and credentials, ask them to produce their physical portfolio (not just photos on-line), and verify their track-record or number of successes!